Comer tells Hunter Biden’s attorney House hearing will proceed ‘with or without’ him after refusal to attend

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, on Friday, that an Oversight Committee hearing on alleged influence peddling and the Biden family’s business dealings “will proceed forward — with or without Mr. Biden” next week, after Lowell said the president’s son would not attend.

Comer had invited Biden and business associates Tony Bobulinski, Devon Archer and Jason Galanis to testify at a public hearing at 10 a.m. on March 20. 

But on Wednesday, Lowell said he would decline the hearing, calling it and the investigation a “carnival side show.” 

“Your blatant planned-for-media event is not a proper proceeding but an obvious attempt to throw a Hail Mary pass after the game has ended,” Lowell said, adding that Biden couldn’t attend anyway because he is scheduled to be in California for a hearing on March 21. 

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All four individuals have already testified behind closed doors as part of the impeachment inquiry – during which Hunter Biden repeatedly denied his father, President Biden, was involved in his foreign business deals – but Comer said the public hearing would, “examine inconsistencies among the witnesses’ testimonies in order to get the truth for the American people.”

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Lowell reminded Comer of a statement he made in January when he said: “All we need are people to come in for the depositions and then we’ll be finished. We just need people to show up to the depositions and we’ll wrap this up. Nobody wants to wrap this up more than I do.”

Lowell said his client, the president’s son, “did just as you asked and, as you did when you announced that witnesses could choose depositions, you want to ignore what you said.”  

“I must confess my surprise by your hasty request,” Lowell continued. “After that six-plus hour deposition on February 28, 2024, along with the realization that your inquiry was based on a patchwork of conspiracies spun by convicted liars and a charged Russian spy, I thought even you would recognize your baseless impeachment proceeding was dead.” 

He added, “President Biden has done nothing wrong and certainly nothing, even in your misapplication of the impeachment provisions of the Constitution, to warrant further proceedings.” 

In a Wednesday press release, Comer said the House Oversight Committee had “called Hunter Biden’s bluff.”

He continued, “Hunter Biden for months stated he wanted a public hearing, but now that one has been offered alongside his business associates that he worked with for years, he is refusing to come. During our deposition and interview phase of our investigation, Hunter Biden confirmed key evidence, including evidence that his father, President Joe Biden, lied to the American people about his family’s business dealings and in fact attended meetings, spoke on speakerphone, and had coffee with his foreign business associates who collectively funneled millions to the Bidens.”

He added, “However, parts of Hunter Biden’s testimony contradict the testimonies of Devon Archer, Jason Galanis, and Tony Bobulinski. Next week’s hearing with Hunter Biden and his associates is moving forward and we fully expect Hunter Biden to participate. The American people demand the truth and accountability for the Bidens’ corruption.”

Archer testified before the House Oversight Committee last year that Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone at least 20 times with business associates. 

And Bobulinski testified he personally met with Joe Biden in 2017 for more than 45 minutes. He also testified that Joe Biden “enabled” his son Hunter to sell access to the U.S.’ “most dangerous adversaries,” including the Chinese Communist Party, Russia and more. 

Meanwhile, Galanis, who is serving a 14-year sentence, testified from prison that Joe Biden was allegedly considering joining the board of a joint venture created by Hunter Biden and his business associates with ties to the Chinese Communist Party after he left the vice presidency.

Galanis also said that the words “lean in” were “used often by Devon and Hunter in our business dealings as a term for access to Vice President Biden’s political influence.”

Fox News’ Brooke Singman, Greg Norman and David Spunt contributed to this report.